Stakeholder decisions and trade-offs
Make and communicate choices when affected groups have competing interests.
Covered in this guide
- Map affected stakeholders and unequal impacts.
- Use explicit decision criteria.
- Document mitigation and review.
Stakeholder analysis is not a vote count. Decision-makers must understand who benefits, who bears risk, whose voice may be missing and which duties cannot be traded away.
Name who pays for each option
Stakeholder analysis is not a vote count. Decision-makers must understand who benefits, who bears risk, whose voice may be missing and which duties cannot be traded away.
A cheaper plan that moved risk onto users
Moving all support to one time zone lowers cost but delays urgent help for candidates elsewhere.
Try this
Frame a decision that addresses cost and service risk.
Review answer guidance
Quantify demand and harm by region, define minimum response standards, compare staggered coverage or on-call options, consult affected users and monitor missed-service incidents after implementation.
Trade-off structure in the task
For each option, say who gains, who loses, and what you would monitor. A choice without a loser is usually an incomplete analysis.